Toe protector for footwear



Jan. 15, 1935. c, D, MASON TOE PROTECTOR FOR FOOTWEAR Filed Oct. 22, 1931 Patented Jan. 15, 1935 PATENT OFFICE TOE PROTECTOR FOR FOOTWEAR Claude D. Mason, Mishawaka, Ind., assignor to Mishawaka Rubber and Woolen Manufacturing Company, Mishawaka, Ind., a corporation of Indiana Application October 22, 1931, Serial No, 570,382 4 Claims. (01. 36-77) My invention relates to protectors of the character employed in footwear, such as boots and shoes, to safeguard the toes and feet against falling objects, crushing and squeezing pressures, etc., that would otherwise cause injury.

In many occupations workmen are frequently exposed to the danger of injury to their toes and feet by sharpor heavy objects accidentally falling thereon or by articles or machinery crushing, squeezing, or otherwise endangering their toes or feet and a great deal of effort has been expended to provide a satisfactory toe protector which will adequately safeguard the toes against such injuries. Such protectors, however, must not only be of a shape to conform to the toe'of the boot or shoe and capable of being securely fastened in place and embodied as an integral part of the boot or shoe but they must be of a limited thickness and of relatively light weight so that they do not make the boot or shoe unsightly or clumsy. Moreover it is highly important that in addition to the property of maximum strength to withstand impact with minimum compression, they should be exceedingly tough to prevent cutting or puncturing by sharp objects and sufficiently resilient so that they neither shatter under excessive impact nor remain permanently distorted when compressed by falling objects or otherwise and lock the toes in the toe portion of the shoe. It is also desirable that such protectors be of a. material that does not ignite or burn readily,-that is a non-conductor of electricity,- that does not soften, deteriorate or weaken when exposed to water, oil, heater other conditions to which the shoe is likely to be subjected in use, and that will not infect or aggravate an injury,'and it is also preferred that the material be of a character that it may be readily incorporated in boots or shoes of rubber or other waterproof construction as well as of cloth, leather and other materials.

The principal objects of my invention are to provide an improved toe protector that safeguards the toes and feet against injury more effectively than those previously employed; to provide a protector having the necessary and desirable characteristics mentioned above; and to provide a toe protector of this character which may be readily and economically produced,- these and other objects being attained in the manner and with the structure illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which, I

Fig. l is a perspective view of a toe protector constructed in accordance with my invention;

Fig. 2 is a side view of the toe portion of a shoe, partly in section, showing my toe protector incorporated therein;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view of the toe protector;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view of the mold in which the protector is vulcanized and shows the fabric layers positioned therein preparatory to molding; and

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view, greatly enlarged, of the rubber impregnated fabric before molding.

Referring to the drawing, in which I have illustrated my invention in the preferred form, the reference numeral .6 indicates the toe protector as a whole which has relatively thick front and side wall portions '7 and 8 respectively which are arranged as nearly upright as possible, without material deviation from the usual shape of the toe portion of a shoe, so as to best withstand the impact of falling objects, and these walls, at a suitable elevation above the bottom edge 9 of the protector, (which said elevation may vary somewhat around the protector in order to afford the necessary or desired shoe toe shape) are curved inwardly to the arched top wall portion 10 which is integral with said front and side walls, said top and side walls being diminished in thickness toward the rear edge of the protector, somewhat as shown, to insure smooth interior and exterior shoe surfaces and-a neat appearance at this place, and the inner face of the top wall being preferably curved or beveled upwardly to a slight extent along the rear edge somewhat as shown at 11 in Fig. 3 to minimize the danger of the rear edge being bent or curled in sufficiently under pressure to out into the foot or toes.

This toe protector is molded in the required shape for use and is preferably made up principally of fabric, the latter being coated or impregnated with a hard rubber composition which, when vulcanized bonds this fabric together into a unitary mass. Duck, drill or other strong cotton fabric is preferably used for the fabric base and a compound employed having a sufficient percentage of sulphur to make a good hard rubber, the following formula having been found in practice, to give very satisfactory results,- namely Smoked sheets i 100 This compound, after thorough mixing, is cut into a cement with gasoline and the fabric 12, an enlarged section of which is shown in Fig. 5, is coated or impregnated therewith as indicated at 13 in said figure, after which layers of this rubber coated or impregnated fabric are plied up in a pad which is compressed and vulcanized in a mold.

The number of layers of fabric employed tiepends upon the thickness required for the toe protector, six to eight plies having been found suiiicient, the layers being preferably overlapped as indicated in Fig. 4, or extra pieces of fabric interposed, where greater thickness is required and the number of layers diminished along the rear tapered edge portion of the protector, it being important that there is sufficient fabric at all places to compress into a dense compact mass.

The mold may be of any suitable construction as for example of the form shown in Fig. 4 wherein the mold section 14 has a recess 15 corresponding to the exterior of the toe protector 6 and the mold section 16 has the projection 17 corresponding to the interior of said protector and the layers 12 of fabric are preferably laid up in the recessed portion of the mold, although they may be plied up in the form of a pad and thereafter placed in the mold.

After the fabric has been placed in the mold the mold sections 14 and 16 are brought together under a pressure sufiiciently heavy to compress the fabric 12 into a dense compact mass in the form ofthe toe protector, after which the toe protector while under pressure in the mold is vulcanized. It may be completely cured in the mold as for example by subjecting to a temperature of 290 degrees Fahrenheit for about twenty minutes or it may be partially cured in the mold as for example by subjecting to a temperature of 290 degrees Fahrenheit for about four minutes and then, after removal from the mold, finished by heating in steam or air from two to three hours at a temperature of about 2'10 degrees Fahrenheit.

cured in the mold and finished by co-vulcanization with the shoe after assembling in the latter or if previously completely vulcanized it must be capable of withstanding without deterioration the When the protector is to be used in con-- nection with rubber footwear it may be partially specified above provides a particularly satisfactory construction.

A toe protector constructed as above described, has been found superior to others heretofore employed, not only in the respect that it is exceedingly tough and capable of satisfactorily withstanding more severe blows and greater pressure without danger of injury to the toes, but it also does not fracture or remain permanently distorted when subjected to excessive impacts. Moreover it is readily adaptable for use in boots or shoes of rubber as well as of leather, fabric and other materials,does not ignite or burn readily,--is a non-conductor of electricity, and does not soften, deteriorate or weaken when subjected to moisture, oil, heat or other conditions to which it is likely to be subjected in use.

While I have shown and described my inven- -tion in a preferred form I am aware that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the principles of my invention the scope of which is to be determined by the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A toe protector unit adapted to be incorporated in the toe portion of a shoe, said unit comprising a body of superposed layers of fibrous material compressed together in a compact mass, said layers being bonded to one another with hard rubber in a form corresponding to the toe portion of the shoe in which the unit is to be incorporated.

2. A toe protector unit adapted to be incorporated in the toe portion of a shoe, said unit comprising a body of superposed layers of fabric compressed together in a compact fabric mass, said layers being bonded to one another with hard rubber in a form corresponding to the toe portion of the shoe in which the unit is to be incorporated.

3. A toe protector unit adapted to be incorporated in the toe portion of a shoe, said unit comprising a body of superposed layers of fabric of varying size compressed together in a compact fabric mass, said layers being bonded to one another with hard rubber in a form corresponding to the toe portion of the shoe in which the unit is to be incorporated and said fabric layers of varying size being arranged so that the number of superposed layers diminishes outwardly toward the edge of the unit.

4. A toe protector unit adapted to be incorporated in the toe portion of a shoe, said unit comprising a body of superposed layers of fabric compressed together in a compact fabric mass, said layers being bonded to one another with hard rubber in a form corresponding to the toe portion of the shoe in which the unit is to be incorporated, and said layers having portions thereof interleaved across the top and front of the unit to increase the thickness of the fabric mass.

CLAUDE D. MASON. 

